Orphan’s Pension

If you are supporting a minor child of the deceased and that person contributed sufficiently to the Québec Pension Plan, you may receive an orphan’s pension until the child reaches the age of 18.

The orphan’s pension is payable as of the month following the death. Almost without exception, the pension is paid retroactively for up to 12 months.

An orphan’s pension may be paid to the person who supports a minor child of a deceased person provided the deceased contributed sufficiently to the Québec Pension Plan.

The person who receives a surviving spouse’s pension may also be paid an orphan’s pension if he or she supports the orphan.

In the event of the death of both parents, only one pension is paid.

The orphan’s pension is one of three types of survivors’ benefits payable under the Québec Pension Plan. The other two are the death benefit and the surviving spouse’s pension.

Contributory periodThe period that begins in the month following a person’s 18th birthday and ends at the end of the month preceding the one in which the payment of a retirement pension begins, at the end of the month of the person’s 70th birthday or at the end of the month of his or her death.

ClienteleAny person supporting the minor child of a deceased person.

Conditions regarding the childFor an orphan’s pension to be paid, one of the following two conditions must be met:

The deceased was the biological or adoptive parent of the child.

The deceased served as mother or father to the child, who had been living with the deceased for at least a year when the death occurred.

RestrictionNo orphan’s pension is payable where the child was placed in foster care in the deceased person's home and the deceased was receiving amounts for his or her care.

General conditions

For an orphan’s pension to be paid, the deceased must have contributed to the Québec Pension Plan

for at least 10 years, or

for at least a third of his or her contributory period (see definitions), for a minimum of three years.

NoteRetraite Québec takes into account all the contributions made by the deceased before and after he or she began receiving a retirement pension. takes into account all the contributions made by the deceased before and after he or she began receiving a retirement pension.

Particular conditions regarding contributionsIf a deceased person had a severe impairment during his or her contributory period and did not contribute for the required number of years, the orphan’s pension may still be paid under the following conditions:

The deceased must have contributed to the Plan for a quarter of his or her contributory period, for a minimum of three years.

The deceased must have received a tax credit for a severe and prolonged impairment in mental or physical functions (or an equivalent deduction).

The deceased must not have been receiving a retirement pension or a disability pension under the Québec Pension Plan or the Canada Pension Plan.

If the deceased contributed to the pension plan of a country with which Québec has a social security agreement, he or she may, in certain cases, receive benefits from the foreign plan and be eligible for benefits under the Québec Pension Plan.

In 2019, the monthly amount of orphan’s pension is $250.27 for each child.

The orphan’s pension is paid as of the month following the deceased’s death until the child reaches the age of 18.

Retroactive paymentRetroactive payment of an orphan's pension is limited to 12 months from the date of receipt of the application, provided that all the criteria are met.

Tax treatmentThe orphan’s pension is taxable and must be reported in the child’s income.

One may ask Retraite Québec to deduct income tax at source.

IndexationThe orphan’s pension is indexed annually.

Terms of paymentThe orphan’s pension is paid on the last working day of each month, by cheque or direct deposit.

Dates of monthly paymentsMonthly payments of the orphan’s pension in 2019 will take place on the following dates: